The present invention is directed to methods and apparatuses for loading filled fruit packing trays into cartons, boxes, or other containers.
Shipment of fruit, such as apples, requires packing the fruit so it is not bruised or otherwise damaged while the fruit is in transit. Damage to the fruit may result if the fruit is packed too tightly or packed so loosely that the fruit can be jarred into sudden contact with the walls of its container or other fruit. Typically, fruit such as apples are packed in paper fiber trays that have cups shaped and sized for retaining the apples to minimize movement of the apples relative to the trays. The trays are shaped so that when filled with apples or other fruit, they may be stacked one upon another in a packing carton for shipment.
In one conventional packing method, the fruit packing trays are filled with apples by hand and the filled trays move on a conveyor belt to a boxing station. At the boxing station, workers manually pick up each filled apple tray and load the trays one by one into cartons for shipment. In one aspect of this conventional method, a machine inserts cushioning pads between each tray in the carton to further cushion and protect the fruit. An automated device with suction cups is typically used to place a top pad on the top-most tray before the carton is sealed.
One drawback with this conventional method is that manually loading the filled trays into packing cartons is a time-consuming, labor-intensive and expensive activity. Accordingly, one approach to addressing the foregoing problem has been to automatically place an empty fruit packing tray in the carton using automated suction cups that engage the tray and release the tray into the carton. The apples are then individually, automatically deposited in the tray using automated suction cups that engage the apples and release the apples into the cups of the tray. Once the tray is full, a cushioning pad is automatically positioned on the filled tray and the next empty tray is automatically positioned on top of the cushioning pad. The next tray is then automatically filled with apples in a similar manner.
One problem with this automated approach is that loading apples individually into the trays with suction cups can be a time-consuming process and the suction cups can damage the apples, particularly if the apples (or another fruit) are soft. Furthermore, the suction cups do not orient the apples in a uniform manner, so that the arrangement of apples in the trays is not consistent, which may be unappealing to consumers. Still a further drawback is that the automatic process does not allow for a final quality control check of each apple just before the apple is placed in the tray. Yet a further drawback is that the automatic device is relatively large and may not be fit into existing apple processing facilities without substantially altering existing processing lines.
The present invention is directed to methods and apparatuses for loading packing cartons with packing trays filled with fruit or vegetables. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a frame and a carton loading station proximate to the frame and configured to support the packing carton in a selected position. The apparatus can further include at least one tray engaging member coupled to the frame and movable relative to the frame and the carton loading station between a first position and a second position. In the first position, the tray engaging member is spaced apart from the packing carton to engage a selected filled fruit packing tray and in the second position, the tray engaging member is proximate to the packing carton to load the selected filled tray into the packing carton.
In one embodiment, the tray engaging member can be one of a plurality of tray engaging members coupled to a tray head that moves upwardly and downwardly with the tray engaging members relative to the packing carton between the first and second positions. Each tray engaging member can have an elongated shaft with a tapered end portion for engaging the selected tray. The tray engaging members are pivotable relative to the tray about a rotation axis between an engaged position with the tray engaging members engaging the selected tray and a disengaged position with the tray engaging members disengaged from the selected tray. In a further aspect of this embodiment, the tray engaging members are coupled to first and second portions of the tray head. The first portion of the tray head is pivotable relative to the second portion to spread the tray engaging members apart around the selected filled tray as the tray head engages the selected filled tray.
A method in accordance with an embodiment of the invention includes engaging a selected filled fruit packing tray with a tray engaging member of a carton loading apparatus, positioning the tray proximate to an opening of a packing carton, and moving the tray engaging member and the selected tray as a unit toward the carton to position the selected tray within the carton. The method can further include releasably engaging a cushioning pad with an inserter apparatus and releasing the cushioning pad onto the filled fruit packing tray when the filled fruit packing tray is in the carton.